How have your other careers in television news and video production influenced your fiction writing? Do you "see" scenes the way other writers "hear" voices in their minds?

I do. In fact, I have to see the “film” in my head -- establishing shots, CUs, pans, and moves -- or I can’t write it. The other element that’s helped enormously -- and I know it came from my film background -- is pacing. I think I have a good notion of when the action needs to be ramped up… calmed down… and when to cut to other scenes. I was an assistant film editor for a couple of years, and that had its effect.

Your series protagonist, Ellie Foreman, appears to have some similarities with you in terms of background and choice of profession. But where did your cynical female cop, Georgia Davis, come from?

Beats me. I’m still not sure. Probably the dark side of my personality. Actually, Georgia was a supporting character in my second and third “practice” novels (I wrote 3 unpublished novels before the first Ellie book), so she actually pre-dates Ellie. I always knew I was going to come back to her eventually. It’s not that she’s cynical as much as she’s been raised closer to the bone… ie on the street.. In addition she has some emotional baggage which weighs heavily.

Tell us about Easy Innocence, the book that comes out in April 2008. Is this a departure for you? How?

Yes, it’s a departure in several ways. First, it’s a PI novel, not amateur sleuth. Amateur sleuth novels get tricky after a while -- how many dead bodies can Ellie come across as a video producer? Why would she even get involved? Having a PI is an excellent solution to both issues. Second, EASY INNOCENCE is a much darker book than I’ve previously written. Still, I hope readers will still find the same level of suspense.. maybe even more. Finally, it’s a more personal book. The idea came to me as my daughter was passing through high school. I was recently separated and feeling unequal to the task of parenting a teenager. EASY INNOCENCE is in some ways every mother’s nightmare.

Will Ellie Foreman come back in another book?

Yes. I’m writing an Ellie-Georgia book right now. Both characters, both voices. It’s proving to be a little tricky.

Which novel or short story you have written is your personal favorite, and why?

Of my novels, I like AN IMAGE OF DEATH the best. At least until now. IMAGE, which incidentally is the novel that introduces Georgia (she and Ellie are working the case at the same time) says things I didn’t know I wanted to say, primarily about women and the choices they are forced to make in order to survive. As for short stories, two recent ones, HIGH YELLOW which was in A HELL OF A WOMAN, and YOUR SWEET MAN, which was in CHICAGO BLUES were also departures for me, and I like the way they both turned out.

You've lived in other cities besides Chicago. Do have plans to set any future books in say, Philadelphia, or would you "rather be dead" than do that?

Ah… you’ve hit a sore spot with Philadelphia. I don’t want to offend any Philly readers -- and I DID set a chapter or two of AN IMAGE OF DEATH there -- but I don’t see myself setting any novels there. I went to college in Philadelphia and thought the streets were too narrow and the food too fattening. I liked the Second Fret, though. I set HIGH YELLOW in my home town of Washington, DC, which was fun. But again, I don’t see myself setting entire novels there. I belong to Chicago and it belongs to me.

How do you juggle your other career(s) with your writing and touring schedule and being mom to a teenager --do you cheat on sleep?

It’s a lot easier now. My son is in law school in California, and my daughter in college. So I have more time than before. Unfortunately, it hasn’t made me any more productive. (I wonder why..) In fact, I think I was more disciplined when I had less time. I find myself playing a lot of Spider Solitaire. Wonder what that means???

Who is the one writer, alive or dead, you would most like to meet?

Shakespeare. I’d love to pick his brain. I’d love to pick his brain.

New crime fiction authors are encouraged to join writers' organizations whenever possible. Which organization has been most rewarding for you personally?

No question, Sisters in Crime… hands down.

You've been interviewed many times before. Is there a question no one has ever asked that you're just dying to answer?

Sarah's latest novel

"Catacomb," the search for Nazi looted art under Rome

Interview with Sarah Underhill Wisseman

How did you become a writer?My parents read to me when I was very little, and my father wrote two unpublished mysteries after he retired. My university job has always required writing, but I wrote mostly non-fiction until about 1998.

What is your background?I grew up in Evanston, IL and Weston, MA. Since college, I have worked as a museum curator, database manager, conservation lab assistant, field archaeologist, archaeological scientist, cook on an archaeological dig, and dorm mother. I majored in Anthropology as an undergraduate, and that’s when I fell in love with archaeology and museum work.

Your books are about archaeology and museums. Do you have experience in those areas?Yes. I’ve been on archaeological excavations in Israel, Italy, North Carolina, and Nevada. My museum experience began in college when I took a job as a museum guard at the Peabody Museum in Cambridge, Mass. Since then I have worked in five other museums in four different cities in registration, conservation, research, curation, tour-guiding, fund-raising, and database management.

Have you published other books?Yes. Five books of non-fiction on ancient Greek vases, Greek archaeology, scientific methods in archaeology, and Egyptian mummies.

How did you become an archaeologist?During my freshman year in college, a friend handed me a brochure about a summer archaeology program in Israel. I signed up and it changed my life. I went back for a junior year abroad, living in Tel Aviv and digging in the dessert around Beersheva and the Dead Sea area. I completed my graduate work (M.A. and Ph.D) at Bryn Mawr College in Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology.

Is “Bound for Eternity” based on real life?Yes. At the University of Illinois, my colleagues and I conducted an investigation of an Egyptian mummy using X-ray, CT scanning, and other non-destructive analyses. I wrote about our results in several technical articles and then in a book for the general public called “The Virtual Mummy” which was published by the University of Illinois Press in 2003. The murder mystery grew out of that experience (of writing the non-fiction book).

Why Boston for your setting?I grew up in a Boston suburb and went to high school and college in that area. Although I have lived in Illinois for over twenty years, I wanted to return home to Boston in my books since it is one of my favorite cities. Also, Cape Cod was my parents’ home after they retired.

Is your museum real?No, but it is based upon a former attic museum at the University of Illinois.

Is “Dead Sea Codex” based on real life?Yes and no. The story and characters are fictional, but the settings of Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and the site of Masada are real and known to me from nearly two years of living and traveling in Israel in the 1970s.

Dead Sea Codex is a prequel for Bound for Eternity. Do you have plans for future books?Yes. The third book, "The House of the Sphinx," is based on my recent trip to Egypt and will include both archaeology and bioterrorism. “The Fall of Augustus” will be set in Boston again and begins with a death by falling statue. In a later book in the series I plan to move the setting to James Barber’s hospital and create a mystery using my husband’s medical background.

Have you won any awards for your writing?No, but I have placed in a couple of contests: I finaled in the 2004 St. Martin's Press/MALICE DOMESTIC CONTEST for the Best First Traditional Mystery Novel and won third place in the 2004 Leditslip contest for the Best Mystery Novel Proposal

About Me

Sarah Wisseman is a retired professional archaeologist, mystery writer, and painter. She has worked as a researcher and teacher for over thirty years at the University of Illinois. www.sarahwisseman.com